JEFFERSON CITY - Work will soon be under way on another 54 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects following action taken yesterday by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. The commission approved $87.1 million worth of economic stimulus projects at its monthly meeting, bringing the total number of recovery projects awarded in Missouri to 91.

The work includes repairing bridges, building new interchanges, resurfacing roadways and improving shoulders and pavement. The Missouri Department of Transportation estimates the 91 ARRA projects will support 4,970 jobs.

"In just a few short months, we have started work on 12 stimulus projects and completed one," MoDOT Director Pete Rahn said. "We're also on target to have half of our stimulus funding obligated by the required June 30 deadline. That shows how serious we are about putting this money to work fast to create jobs and improve our roads and bridges."

The state continued to benefit from effective planning by MoDOT and increased competition in the construction industry. The 54 ARRA projects came in 15.1 percent under budget saving the state more than $15.4 million.

"The savings we're experiencing on construction projects is helping offset the decline in state and federal revenue we're experiencing because of the economic downturn," Rahn said. "But we're still sliding toward a huge decline in our construction program over the next five years. Stimulus money has helped slow our fall off the cliff, but we're still going to hit the bottom and our transportation system will start getting worse instead of better."